Durarara!!

[something]

Didn't see a thread, or at least search found none under "durarara". Might as well make one.

So much for keeping myself to one import this season... or even two for that matter. Five episodes in this show refuses to stop being amazing, so I think it'll be joining Hidamari Sketch and Sora no Woto. It's in my wishlist at least, which is now big enough for another order... I guess an upside to it being DVD only is that it's slightly cheaper. Still sucks to see a HD show get a DVD only release though.

It looks like four volumes are solicited already:

Vol. 1 (http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B002XG1H1U)
Vol. 2 (http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B0032CB9SA)
Vol. 3 (http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00332JZ9O)
Vol. 4 (http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00332JZA8)

Comes with some nice extras, which mostly won't do me any good, sadly (commentaries, drama CD, spinoff novel, etc). Vol. 4 has the soundtrack though, which will be most welcome. I also have to wonder what a Shizuo character CD will sound like. :sd:

This release starts pretty soon. The first disc is February 24, while Sora and Hidamari don't begin until a month later.

It's also ranking quite highly on Amazon, which hopefully means it'll sell well. Enough for a sequel, hopefully, unless the source material is something that can be handled in one cour.

[hissatsu]

I'd really like to buy this show; it's the best of the season, but I'm not buying any more R2 DVDs. Especially a show that's airing in HD. I'll wait for the blu-rays, however long it takes.

[HitokiriShadow]

The spin-off novel and drama CD extras are pretty nice and would make BDs of this series very, very tempting. It's still a bit tempting, particularly since I really want this series to do well and would like to contribute to that, but I just can't justify breaking my BD only rule and spending the money (which is already tight with my current level of imports, among other reasons) on the DVDs.

[ilmaestro]

I'd really like to buy this show; it's the best of the season, but I'm not buying any more R2 DVDs. Especially a show that's airing in HD. I'll wait for the blu-rays, however long it takes.
Bosh, massive +1. I'm looking on them announcing a BD boxset once three or four of the DVDs are out.

[something]

The spin-off novel and drama CD extras are pretty nice and would make BDs of this series very, very tempting. It's still a bit tempting, particularly since I really want this series to do well and would like to contribute to that, but I just can't justify breaking my BD only rule and spending the money (which is already tight with my current level of imports, among other reasons) on the DVDs.
I'm already importing DVDs for Todoke, Sasameki and Haruhi so while not wanting to import plain old DVDs is a factor I do weigh, I seem to end up doing it anyway so I guess it doesn't matter all that much. And, technically, unless the BDs came with decent English subtitles, it's not like I'll actually be watching the physical discs of either version (not for a complicated, super-talky show like this anyway) so I suppose DVD vs BD doesn't matter enough to me to be a total dealbreaker.

I'm mostly weighing this against the Otome BDs. On the one hand, they're BD (and supposedly not upscales), would run me ~$100-150 less than 6-7 discs of Durarara!!, have English subs, and Otome is just one of my favorite shows ever. On the other hand it's a 4:3 series, I already own it, I've seen it multiple times, there's a small but nonzero chance it could get an R1 release, and I told myself I'd only import newly airing shows because that's where my financial support counts the most. That's part of why I'm passing on the Kanon and Clannad BDs (in addition to the ludicrous price).

Well, that and I just know that if I wait until Durarara!! gets a BD release who knows how far down the line, I won't end up buying it at all. I'll have too much else going on at the time and I'll just pass - I can virtually guarantee it. So if I want to own it this is probably the only real chance it'll get.

Still, I dunno. Maybe I'll pass on both and save up for whatever horrors Spring tries to throw at me. K-ON! 2 is already a given, and I'll be surprised if Angel Beats! doesn't tempt me too. And those are the only two shows I can name from the Spring lineup at the moment. Who knows what else we'll get...

[something]

I'm looking on them announcing a BD boxset once three or four of the DVDs are out.
Is there precedent for that with other shows lately (ideally from the same distributor)? If so I'm more likely to wait and see.

[HitokiriShadow]

I'm already importing DVDs for Todoke, Sasameki and Haruhi so while not wanting to import plain old DVDs is a factor I do weigh, I seem to end up doing it anyway so I guess it doesn't matter all that much. And, technically, unless the BDs came with decent English subtitles, it's not like I'll actually be watching the physical discs of either version (not for a complicated, super-talky show like this anyway) so I suppose DVD vs BD doesn't matter enough to me to be a total dealbreaker.

I'd be willing to do it if I liked the series enough (say, Toradora or Bakemonogatari levels of amazingingness) AND it had enough extras to justify it (which Toradora lacked; I was seriously considering importing it back when it aired but it had rather ho-hum extras, nothing I'd miss by waiting for a BD set). Yuri also has a lot of weight, hence why I bought Sasameki Koto. BD releases really matter for me because I do intend to actually watch them at some point, once I can watch anime without subs (which will likely be another several years). While I'm far from a videophile, I do want to have the best possible video quality and BDs don't have the region code problems I would have to deal with for DVDs.



Still, I dunno. Maybe I'll pass on both and save up for whatever horrors Spring tries to throw at me. K-ON! 2 is already a given, and I'll be surprised if Angel Beats! doesn't tempt me too. And those are the only two shows I can name from the Spring lineup at the moment. Who knows what else we'll get...

I'm assuming I'll be getting Angel Beats unless I watch it and it falls short of expectations. By the time the BDs for Spring shows actually start coming out, Bakemonogatari and Hayate will be finished, so I shouldn't have any problems adding Angel Beats and another series to my import list. But I also weigh any series I get against the possibility of a few other shows suddenly having BD sets announced, particularly Hayate season 1 and Toradora (a Kannagi BD set would also be very tempting). So I could suddenly have a $400+ surprise taking one of those open slots.

[ilmaestro]

I'm looking on them announcing a BD boxset once three or four of the DVDs are out.
Is there precedent for that with other shows lately (ideally from the same distributor)?
I don't think so, no, but since it happened to me with Gundam 00 (although the BD release was singles, too), Spice & Wolf, and Mouryou no Hako I'm just praying that there'll be a series where I play it the right way at some stage. ^^; Also, the weird early release just seems a bit off, to me, like they want people buying the DVDs right now quick.

DRRR!! is my number one show from this season so far, but since I do actually watch the discs I buy, it's just too much of a kick in the crotch for a show that looks and sounds as good as this one, from a company that is releasing a lot of shows on BD, to be going DVD only.

The extras do sound awesome, too, which just makes it all the more annoying. :(

[something]

The extras do sound awesome, too, which just makes it all the more annoying. :(
Especially if they don't include them in any later BD release... Geh.

[ilmaestro]

Yeah, exactly. It hurts to do it, but I have to stay strong. ^^;

[HitokiriShadow]

The extras do sound awesome, too, which just makes it all the more annoying. :(
Especially if they don't include them in any later BD release... Geh.

I always assume that if there isn't a simultaneous BD release, the later BD release with be a set with no physical extras and minimal on-disc extras. As far as I can tell, almost all later BD releases are sets and have no physical extras. The only exception I can think of is Black Lagoon, which is getting BD singles, but I don't know if they include all of the DVD extras or not (but I assuming its missing a few things). The odds of those novel chapters and CDs being available with a later BD release are basically zero.

[Ingraman]

I always assume that if there isn't a simultaneous BD release, the later BD release with be a set with no physical extras and minimal on-disc extras. As far as I can tell, almost all later BD releases are sets and have no physical extras. The only exception I can think of is Black Lagoon, which is getting BD singles, but I don't know if they include all of the DVD extras or not (but I assuming its missing a few things). The odds of those novel chapters and CDs being available with a later BD release are basically zero.

While I might be a little sad about missing a soundtrack CD (but I'm not really remembering the BGM that's played so far), I wouldn't be particularly saddened by the loss of drama CDs or novel chapters with a future BD set.

Because I decided that I would only import BD releases, I skipped the Clannad and Haruhi 2009 R2 DVDs (even though I own the eight Haruhi 2006 LE DVDs). I'm still thinking about the Clannad BD release (and I don't recall what the DVD LE extras were, anyway, besides the prettier cover art), especially since it has subtitles.

[Jarmel]

Why wasn't BD announced for this anyway?

[Fencedude]

Why wasn't BD announced for this anyway?

If I had to guess, I'd say they weren't expecting it to be amazingly popular.

[Jarmel]

Seems kinda weird when even a show like Nyan Koi can get a BD release but one of the two leading shows this season doesn't. I thought people liked money.

[Buster Darkwings]

I think it's a combination of sales being expected to come mostly from the fujoshi crowd (who don't generally buy Blu-ray) and from Aniplex not fully being behind Blu-ray yet, despite them being a Sony Group company. The Gurren Lagann movies also would have been a good choice for Blu-ray, yet those too were DVD only.

[Shiroi Hane]

Aniplex not fully being behind Blu-ray yet
I guess that's why there was no Blu for Kara no Kyoukai.

[something]

Aniplex not fully being behind Blu-ray yet
I guess that's why there was no Blu for Kara no Kyoukai.
Worst thing about Aniplex not always doing BD stuff is, based on what I've bought and am buying, they seem to put out the nicest releases. And some of the best shows at that. My top 3 Winter '10 shows are all distributed by them. Well, at least the series I am buying from them did get BD.

[Hayate Kurogane]

Aniplex not fully being behind Blu-ray yet
I guess that's why there was no Blu for Kara no Kyoukai.

Which drove me up the wall. Having happily bought the LEs for all seven films, I'll gladly rebuy them on Blu-ray, but damned if I wish they'd just gone that route in the first place.

It is awfully...unfortunate, I guess, that an entertainment production subsidiary of one of the major Blu-ray consortium players wouldn't be making better use of that format.

[cristian]

Aniplex not fully being behind Blu-ray yet
I guess that's why there was no Blu for Kara no Kyoukai.

Which drove me up the wall. Having happily bought the LEs for all seven films, I'll gladly rebuy them on Blu-ray, but damned if I wish they'd just gone that route in the first place.

It is awfully...unfortunate, I guess, that an entertainment production subsidiary of one of the major Blu-ray consortium players wouldn't be making better use of that format.

you and me and another fans want bluray they now it', but they also now that this product has a dubbeldiping fan potatinal. you are not buying the bluray for a second time if it comes out, but you will if you have the first round dvd only release. and it is the same with durarara

[something]

you and me and another fans want bluray they now it', but they also now that this product has a dubbeldiping fan potatinal. you are not buying the bluray for a second time if it comes out, but you will if you have the first round dvd only release. and it is the same with durarara
At the same time, you also run the risk of interest in the series cooling off before you release the BD set. So some of the up-front lost sales (people who didn't buy because of no BD) and some of the potential double-dips may not materialize as expected.

It can bite them in the ass if they're not careful. I'm pretty sure Drrr will get away with it though.

[Jarmel]

Does anyone know if this has been a success in Japan? That might help gauge a later BD release. I want to buy this so bad.

[something]

Does anyone know if this has been a success in Japan? That might help gauge a later BD release. I want to buy this so bad.
Fairly dramatically so, compared to what anyone seemed to expect anyway. First volume is up to 18,216+ now. For a DVD only release in a market that strongly favors BDs.

But don't worry. The sheer fucking epicness of episode 10 forced me to break down and start buying the DVDs. Which I repeatedly, strongly promised myself I absolutely would not do. The promises of restraint I make to myself regarding imports haven't seemed to mean a damn thing so far. -_-

Anyway, this of course means that a BD announcement is now absolutely inevitable. Hell, watch it be a BD release with the CR subs too. Just to make me kick myself that much harder!

[Jarmel]

Well it seems too late to announce BD singles so I'm assuming a down the road BD boxset would be more likely. This sucks to be begin with though. Still glad to hear that the sales are good to begin with though.

[something]

Well it seems too late to announce BD singles so I'm assuming a down the road BD boxset would be more likely.
Yes, it would definitely be a box rather than singles.

[something]

Hmm, so am I the only dumb sucker who bought this? :sd:

Anyway, got Vol. 1 in today. The CD is, as far as I can tell, a cover of Linda, Linda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Linda) which I've heard of but never heard, by Kida Masaomi. Unfortunately I can't find a good image of the cd case's cover and I don't want to dig too deep because a Durarara!! image has already spoiled me on one big thing. But like, the image of Kida is very... interesting. When I first saw it I absolutely swore it was a genderswap. He's leaning forward and winking and his jacket is a big right around his torso. the high contrast color scheme makes it look like he's wearing a miniskirt and knee socks. Only upon looking much closer did I realize he's just got really tight jeans on and the lighting is misleading. :sd:

Also, this is the first series I've bought that came in super jewel cases, ad they're quite nice. They even have the CD (which I think only has one song, haven't confirmed) in its own case. If they keep this up, the 12-13 volumes are gonna take like 24+ discs. :sd: At least they're fairly thin.

There's also the mini novel that was mentioned. It has Shinra on the cover and... uh, words I can't read inside. It's 20 pages long.

On disc stuff is a 34 minute seiyuu event with four of the male seiyuu and a lot of screaming fangirls: Toyonaga Toshiyuki, Kamiya Hiroshi, Ono Daisuke and Fukuyama Jun. Nakamura Yuuichi joins in later. And there's a Celty on stage too, but sadly it's not Sawashiro Miyuki. It's a bit amusing because you have Kamiya and Ono and Fukuyama looking all heart-throbby idol-like and then, god, Toyonaga is just downright scary to look at. I think it's the hair...

Both episodes have audio commentaries as well, with the male seiyuu. You know, I think they really caught on to the popularity this had with female fans and planned the release accordingly. :sd:

Alright, one down. At least 11 to go...

[Shiroi Hane]

If not for lack of money, this would be a title I possibly would be getting, along with Soranowoto. As it is, I currently can't even keep up with Kiddy GiRL-and.
My only superjewel series is Clannad (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Tt7VamdMfTlluoNTyNUQxQ?feat=directlink), which had no CDs but a second box per season for the books.
strike witches (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/1UEScpIiKE8REgeWSRvi0g?feat=directlink) had CDs with each DVD, in thinpacks rather than superjewels, but gave you three boxes to put them in along with the booklets.
Lucky Star had three discs per volume (DVD, CD and CD-ROM), again in thinpacks, with a thin box per volume.

[Buster Darkwings]

If it makes you feel any better, the Blu-rays for -and are apparently going to be indefinitely delayed. I forget if you were getting both the BDs and the DVDs, though.

[Shiroi Hane]

If it makes you feel any better, the Blu-rays for -and are apparently going to be indefinitely delayed. I forget if you were getting both the BDs and the DVDs, though.
Hadn't heard that, but they weren't limited - I was going to get them but was going to concentrate initially on the LE DVDs. I still intent to get them, hopefully they won't sell out too fast (the original series had been around for a while when I started collecting - had trouble getting volume 10 and nearly didn't get volume 12 at all - and it was missing one of the bookmarks then, but I couldn't do anything about it and it was also too late to send in for the extras...). Really annoying thing is different art on all three versions so I probably will end up getting the RE DVDs also.

[Shiroi Hane]

If it makes you feel any better, the Blu-rays for -and are apparently going to be indefinitely delayed.
Only delayed till the 16th April according to the official site (http://www.kiddygirl-and.com/dvdgoods/bd_case01.html#info).

[ilmaestro]

Goddam, that does sound like an awesome release. Cover version of Linda Linda is too much. Resistance... breaking... down...

I'd be ordering it *right now* if the commentaries were in-character a la Bakemonogatari, but I'm still sorely tempted.

Have you actually watched or even just checked out the PQ of the actual episodes, something?

[something]

Have you actually watched or even just checked out the PQ of the actual episodes, something?
Went through it a bit when checking out the commentaries. It, uh, looks like a DVD I guess. Most of what I watch nowadays is either 720p or 1080p (stream or download or BD) so it's hard to really judge SD anymore. But it is what it is I guess. I didn't notice anything particularly wrong but the difference between it and a 720p version is of course fairly obvious.

I don't have much in the way of R2 DVD to compare to but I do think that, for example, the Haruhi 2k9 DVDs look better. Though whether that's just a function of the scenes I happened to jump to being more flattering to one than the other, I dunno. I'm not really much help in getting a terribly technical explanation. :sd:

[Buster Darkwings]

If it makes you feel any better, the Blu-rays for -and are apparently going to be indefinitely delayed.
Only delayed till the 16th April according to the official site (http://www.kiddygirl-and.com/dvdgoods/bd_case01.html#info).

Yeah, not as bad as originally assumed. I guess a lot of people were fearing Kadokawa wouldn't release it at all since their BD support for current anime is even worse than Aniplex at this point.

[Ingraman]

If it makes you feel any better, the Blu-rays for -and are apparently going to be indefinitely delayed.
Only delayed till the 16th April according to the official site (http://www.kiddygirl-and.com/dvdgoods/bd_case01.html#info).

Yeah, not as bad as originally assumed. I guess a lot of people were fearing Kadokawa wouldn't release it at all since their BD support for current anime is even worse than Aniplex at this point.

Don't get people's hopes up for Durarara BD! ^_^; I glanced at the post and clicked the link, and all that I got was Kiddy Girl-and. Something's very wrong when it's KG-a getting the BDs, and not Drrr. ;_; Change the subject line, at least?

[ilmaestro]

I'm not really much help in getting a terribly technical explanation. :sd:
^_^ Don't worry man, thanks for the reply.

[Buster Darkwings]

If it makes you feel any better, the Blu-rays for -and are apparently going to be indefinitely delayed.
Only delayed till the 16th April according to the official site (http://www.kiddygirl-and.com/dvdgoods/bd_case01.html#info).

Yeah, not as bad as originally assumed. I guess a lot of people were fearing Kadokawa wouldn't release it at all since their BD support for current anime is even worse than Aniplex at this point.

Don't get people's hopes up for Durarara BD! ^_^; I glanced at the post and clicked the link, and all that I got was Kiddy Girl-and. Something's very wrong when it's KG-a getting the BDs, and not Drrr. ;_; Change the subject line, at least?

I honestly never look at the subject lines above individual posts.

Sorry it wasn't clear enough from the abbreviation and context (not being sarcastic).

[Fencedude]

Sorry it wasn't clear enough from the abbreviation and context (not being sarcastic).

Calling it "-and" was somewhat obscure, makes it hard to tell you were refering to the series. "Kiddy Girl" is probably a more useful "short" version.

[Buster Darkwings]

Yeah, I know it wasn't a good abbreviation. At the time I first made the post I brain farted and forgot that the name of the previous series was Kiddy Grade and not Kiddy Girl.

[something]

Goddam, that does sound like an awesome release. Cover version of Linda Linda is too much. Resistance... breaking... down...
Oh btw, I listened to this last night. The first track is, uh... well as far as I can gather, Kida is hitting on the listener (Have I mentioned how strongly this release is catering to the female fans? =P). The "Linda Linda" cover is the second track, and it's pretty awesome. I was aware of the song, or at least its main chorus, but had never really listened to it fully. Kida's cover is great though.

[Fencedude]

Goddam, that does sound like an awesome release. Cover version of Linda Linda is too much. Resistance... breaking... down...
Oh btw, I listened to this last night. The first track is, uh... well as far as I can gather, Kida is hitting on the listener (Have I mentioned how strongly this release is catering to the female fans? =P). The "Linda Linda" cover is the second track, and it's pretty awesome. I was aware of the song, or at least its main chorus, but had never really listened to it fully. Kida's cover is great though.

I'm amused by the thought of someone who wanted to get hit on by Kida.

[something]

So this time the CD is Anri! Which means we get 1:55 of Hanazawa Kana being very flustered and nervous and completely adorable as she responds to unvoiced questions about stuff. Yeah.

Her song is 時をかける少女/"Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo". I love Hanazawa Kana but the music itself is eh~. I assume it's a cover of the theme song to this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toki_o_Kakeru_Sh%C5%8Djo_%281983_film%29). Definitely not my kind of music. Image on the cover is really cute though, with Anri in a cute short sleeved school uniform, toast in mouth, and drink bottle balanced on her head. Basically, not looking very Anri-like except for the cute part.

She also gets the cover (http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B003X26KGU) to Vol. 9.